tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43242937941635659962024-03-05T14:50:18.813-06:00Monday Morning Crew ChiefNew Look, Same Great Tastejmayer1843http://www.blogger.com/profile/03979602470480690327noreply@blogger.comBlogger269125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4324293794163565996.post-66156730786744565172012-11-29T22:57:00.000-06:002012-11-29T22:57:00.685-06:00Rating the 2012 Sprint Cup Series season: 2 Stars **
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The
2012 Sprint Cup Series struggled to keep the momentum created by the closest
championship battle in series history in 2011 when Tony Stewart beat Carl
Edwards by a tiebreaker. The 2012 version was defined by lots of green-flag
racing, which isn’t a bad thing, but the excitement level was noticeably down
this year. The 2012 season gets a <a href="http://www.mondaymorningcrewchief.blogspot.com/2009/07/monday-morning-crew-chief-rating-system.html">2 Star Rating.</a></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Brad
Keselowski helped add some spark (and suds) to the finish of the season as he
beat five-time champion Jimmie Johnson to win the title. However, the number of
memorable races can probably be counted on one hand.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Here’s
the breakdown of this year’s ratings, which includes the Budweiser Shootout and
Sprint All-Star Race. It does not include the annual “You Rate the Race” event,
which this season was at Kentucky Speedway.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">5
Stars: 5 races</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">4
Stars: 10 races</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">3
Stars: 8 races</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">2
Stars: 10 races</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">1
Star: 4 races</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">This
year had the most 1 Star races in the history of Monday Morning Crew Chief, and
the number of 5 Star races dropped from eight to five.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Let’s
revisit some of the most memorable races of the season. Click on the links to see the rating for each race mentioned.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">We’ll
start with Daytona Speedweeks, which included a very exciting <a href="http://www.mondaymorningcrewchief.blogspot.com/2012/02/rating-budweiser-shootout-5-stars.html">Budweiser Shootout</a> and bizarre Daytona 500. Kyle Busch drove through turns 3 and 4
sideways early in the shootout, sending sparks flying from his car. The damage
wasn’t enough to slow him down, though, and he came back to win the race by a
few feet ahead of Tony Stewart at the finish line in a race that started the
season with a 5 Star Rating.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The
<a href="http://www.mondaymorningcrewchief.blogspot.com/2012/02/rating-daytona-500-2-stars.html">Daytona 500</a> was definitely the strangest of the season, and perhaps one of the
strangest in the history of the sport. Rain postponed the race until not only
Monday, but Monday night in primetime. Busch sent sparks flying in the
shootout, but Juan Pablo Montoya did him one better by crashing into a jet
dryer under caution. The impact created an explosion and fire in Turn 3 that
put the race under a red flag. Matt Kenseth ended up winning the race that got
a 3 Star Rating because of the day-and-a-half rain delay.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Once
the series left Daytona, the long green-flag runs set in. The racing was
remarkably clean, which is good, but the drivers stayed spread out enough on
tracks such as <a href="http://www.mondaymorningcrewchief.blogspot.com/2012/03/rating-subway-fresh-fit-500-2-stars.html">Phoenix,</a> <a href="http://www.mondaymorningcrewchief.blogspot.com/2012/03/rating-auto-club-400-1-star.html">Fontana</a>, <a href="http://www.mondaymorningcrewchief.blogspot.com/2012/04/rating-samsung-mobile-500-2-stars.html">Texas</a> and even <a href="http://www.mondaymorningcrewchief.blogspot.com/2012/04/rating-captial-city-400-2-stars.html">Richmond</a> that any excitement
from Speedweeks or the previous season had disappeared. Just six races
following Speedweeks received a rating higher than 3 Stars until the series
went back to <a href="http://www.mondaymorningcrewchief.blogspot.com/2012/07/rating-coke-zero-400-5-stars.html">Daytona in July</a> for a 5 Star race.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The
second half of the season started to gain momentum as drivers such as Kasey
Kahne and Jeff Gordon battled back from early season troubles to make the race.
Kahne grabbed a wild-card spot, and Gordon snuck by Busch by one point to claim
the 10<sup>th</sup> and final Chase spot based on points. That <a href="http://www.mondaymorningcrewchief.blogspot.com/2012/09/rating-federated-auto-parts-400-4-stars.html">final regular-season race at Richmond</a> received a 4 Star Rating, and Clint Bowyer took
home the trophy.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Johnson
won another <a href="http://www.mondaymorningcrewchief.blogspot.com/2012/07/rating-brickyard-400-2-stars.html">Brickyard 400</a> this year, his fourth, but the race was less than
thrilling in part because of his dominance. It received a 2 Star Rating.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">However,
things got interesting two weeks later at <a href="http://www.mondaymorningcrewchief.blogspot.com/2012/08/rating-finger-lakes-355-4-stars.html">Watkins Glen</a> as Keselowski and Marcos
Ambrose slide through oil as Busch wrecked on the final lap. Keselowski and
Ambrose had the best final-lap battle of the season, and Ambrose came out on
top to win for the second year in a row on the road course. That final lap
bumped the race to a 4 Star Rating.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The
late-season fireworks first showed up at the, once again, newly reconfigured
<a href="http://www.mondaymorningcrewchief.blogspot.com/2012/08/rating-irwin-tools-night-race-5-stars.html">Bristol Motor Speedway during the August night race</a>. The shaved top groove
brought back the old-style beating and banging, although this time at the top
of the racetrack. Stewart and Kenseth crashed while battling for the lead, and
Stewart threw his helmet at Kenseth’s car, bouncing it off the hood of
Kenseth’s #17. Danica Patrick also wrecked and angrily shook her finger at
Regan Smith. Denny Hamlin ended up winning the 5 Star Race. He won again the
next week at Atlanta and a month later at New Hampshire, but too many
mechanical problems ended his championship run.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Once
the Chase began, Keselowski took charge by winning at <a href="http://www.mondaymorningcrewchief.blogspot.com/2012/09/rating-geico-400-2-stars.html">Chicago</a> and <a href="http://www.mondaymorningcrewchief.blogspot.com/2012/09/rating-aaa-400.html">Dover</a>,
neither of which were particularly action-packed races. They both got 2 Star
Ratings.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The
action-packed Chase race this season was at <a href="http://www.mondaymorningcrewchief.blogspot.com/2012/11/rating-advocare-500-5-stars.html">Phoenix</a>. Kevin Harvick rose from
the desert dust to win his first race of the season, but he was a mere footnote
to the craziness of that 5 Star afternoon. Gordon and Clint Bowyer battled late
in the race, and Gordon cut a tire from the battle and crashed. He then waited
for Bowyer to come back around the track and intentionally wrecked him.
Bowyer’s pit crew was waiting for Gordon when he drove back to the garage, and
they immediately jumped him, inciting one of the largest brawls the sport had
seen in years. Patrick also played a hand in this crazy race. She wrecked as
the field came to the white flag, put down oil in Turn 4 coming to the finish
line, and a half-dozen cars piled up as they crossed the line.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">That
all set the stage for the <a href="http://www.mondaymorningcrewchief.blogspot.com/2012/11/rating-ford-ecoboost-400-3-stars.html">championship race at Homestead</a>. Keselowski came into
the race with a 20-point lead of Johnson and qualified third to Johnson’s 10<sup>th</sup>.
Johnson made a run to the front that night and might have won the title until a
loose lug nut penalty cost him time on the track and a problem in the drivetrain
sent him to the garage early, effectively handing Keselowski the championship.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">This
year marked the end of the Car of Tomorrow body style NASCAR introduced in
2007. A new model will be used next year. As is the case with every new model,
NASCAR officials say it will race better than the previous version. That wasn’t
the case the last time around, but at least the new cars look better.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Next
year will also have its fair share of new drivers with new teams. Most notably,
Kenseth will move to the #20 car, while Joey Logano takes over the #22 ride.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will fill the #17 car, and Kurt Busch will continue to try
and revive his career in the #78 car, formerly driven by Smith.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The
2012 season had its exciting and interesting moments. Let’s just hope there are
more in 2013.</span></div>
jmayer1843http://www.blogger.com/profile/03979602470480690327noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4324293794163565996.post-72073984775151921282012-11-18T21:28:00.001-06:002012-11-18T21:28:51.314-06:00Rating the Ford EcoBoost 400: 3 Stars ***
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">For
the first time in eight years, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series has a first-time
champion. Brad Keselowski won the championship, and Jeff Gordon won a race that
had a lot of storylines, although few that made for a really exciting race. The
final race of the 2012 season gets a <a href="http://www.mondaymorningcrewchief.blogspot.com/2009/07/monday-morning-crew-chief-rating-system.html">3 Star Rating.</a></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Gordon
won the race after Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. had to pit for fuel late in
the race, and he beat his nemesis from Phoenix, Clint Bowyer. My how a week
changes things. Last week those two were involved in garage fights and had torn
up race cars; this week they had the two top finishes.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The best racing of the day came from Busch and Truex Jr. As he did in both the
truck and Nationwide races this weekend, Busch led nearly all of the first 100
laps, but then a debris caution came out and bunched up the field.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">At
that point, Truex Jr. challenged for the lead and the two drivers ran next to
each other the remainder of the race. They traded the lead a few times, and
Truex Jr. hounded Busch’s bumper for much of the night. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">It’s
too bad the race couldn’t have come down to a battle between those two drivers.
The finish likely wouldn’t have ended as close as Friday’s truck race between
Busch and Cale Gale, but it would’ve been better than Gordon beating Bowyer by
more than one second.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">But
the championship was the focus of the day anyway. Johnson put up a good fight
throughout much of the race and had a shot to win the championship after pit
strategies worked in his favor with a little more than 50 laps remaining.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Then
his night quickly took a turn for the worse. His pit crew missed a lugnut on
the left-rear tire on lap 213 and by lap 227 he was in the pits with a blown
drivetrain that would end his night and hopes of a championship.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Johnson
did make the title fight dramatic for a bit, though. After Keselowski chose to
stay on track under caution after Ricky Stenhouse Jr. wrecked on lap 154,
Johnson took the opportunity to get tires and set up his fuel strategy for the
rest of the race.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Had
Johnson been able to avoid his late-race problems, he just might have squeaked
out his sixth championship.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">It
wasn’t meant to be, however, and Keselowski is the Sprint Cup Series champion
in just his third full season in the series. And what a ride he has had to the
top.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Keselowski
won his first race at Talladega Superspeedway in April 2009 in the famous
finish that sent Carl Edwards flying into the fence. That race he drove the
James Finch-owned #09 car to its first victory. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Since
then he’s won eight more races, made the Chase in two of his three years with
Penske Racing and now has the championship. Oh yeah, he also won the Nationwide
Series championship for owner Roger Penske in 2010. Both of his championships
are Penske’s first championships in each series.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">That
is a remarkable run of success, and he has earned it. It has been fun to watch
Keselowski enter the sport and go from a part-timer looking for a full ride to
a brash kid who upset veteran drivers to a champion. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Whether
or not he wins more championships in the future, Keselowski's career will be a success.
Congratulations to him and the entire #2 team on winning the 2012 Sprint Cup
Series championship.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Unfortunately,
the end of the championship race also means the end of the season and no more
Sunday afternoons filled by a NASCAR race. That is always a sad time and takes
somewhat of an adjustment for many fans after they’ve had the same routine for
eight months. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">But as always,
Daytona Speedweeks will open a new season in mid-February and NASCAR life
will begin anew. Hopefully the days between now and then are filled with
happiness and holiday celebrations with friends and family.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Thank
you for following the Monday Morning Crew Chief ratings again this season. It’s
been a fun year and expect more in 2013. Also, look for the rating of
the 2012 Sprint Cup Series season, which will be posted following the
champion’s celebration Nov. 30 in Las Vegas.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Have
a great offseason, everybody.</span></div>
jmayer1843http://www.blogger.com/profile/03979602470480690327noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4324293794163565996.post-25530384367878801992012-11-11T22:17:00.001-06:002012-11-11T22:19:18.431-06:00If NASCAR doesn’t suspend Jeff Gordon, it should have only one explanation<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">NASCAR
officials had a difficult decision on their hands as they went to bed Sunday
night following a wild race at Phoenix International Raceway.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Jeff
Gordon incited a massive brawl that involved him, his #24 team and several
members of Clint Bowyer’s #15 team Sunday after he intentionally turned Bowyer
into the wall Sunday as the field came to the white flag.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">While
the fight was the most eye-catching part of the incident, the part of the
situation that will likely receive the most scrutiny is Gordon’s punting of
Bowyer into the wall on purpose, even though Bowyer still had a mathematical
chance to win the Sprint Cup Series championship.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Bowyer
had gotten underneath Gordon and made contact a few laps before the wreck that
started the fight. The fender rub caused Gordon’s tire to blow and he crashed
in Turn 4. The part of the wreck that should be the focus of NASCAR’s decision is
what happened next.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Gordon
waited for Bowyer to come back around the track and then turned him straight
into the wall while also wrecking Joey Logano and Aric Almirola. He also nearly
ruined another championship contender’s day because Brad Keselowski was right
behind Logano when the wreck happened.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Anyway,
Gordon’s actions looked a lot like what Kyle Busch did to Ron Hornaday Jr. last
year at Texas Motor Speedway in a Camping World Truck Series race.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Hornaday
Jr. was in championship contention heading into the race, but he and Busch
traded paint early in the event. The caution came out shortly thereafter, and
Busch drove Hornaday Jr. up into the Turn 2 wall, effectively ending Hornaday
Jr.’s shot at winning the title.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The
only difference between Busch’s actions and Gordon’s actions was the presence
of the yellow flag. Busch wrecked Hornaday Jr. under caution while Gordon
wrecked Bowyer under green-flag conditions.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">That
should also be the only reason NASCAR doesn’t suspend Gordon for next week’s season
finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Everything else about the wrecks is
essentially the same.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">If
NASCAR doesn’t suspend Gordon and says they made the decision based on
something other than whether the wreck happened under caution, the sport will
be thrown into a mess that would once again tarnish the integrity of the sport.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">NASCAR
dropped a major punishment on Busch last year by parking him for both the
Nationwide and Cup races at Texas following his intentional wreck. Sure, Busch
is considered a brash, pain-in-the-butt by many in the sport and Gordon has the
reputation of a four-time champion that time has helped mold. But none of that should
factor into whether NASCAR allows Gordon to race next Sunday.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Some
people might say a punishment by NASCAR would prevent rough racing in the
future and continue to make a sport that has dwindling excitement even more
mellow. I doubt it. NASCAR has delivered punishments for all kinds of actions
on the track and in the garage area through the years, and we still end up with
arguments and even fights from time to time.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">It
would be better for the integrity of the sport to suspend Gordon, if for
nothing else than to establish a little bit of consistency in the sport’s
rulings.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Others might say the Busch incident was different because he wasn't a full-time competitor in the truck series, but that shouldn't make a difference. He was on the track that night trying to win the race just as much as the other 35 drivers in that truck race, just as Gordon did Sunday against a full Cup series field.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Whether
Gordon’s actions Sunday deserve a suspension will be debated for a long time,
but NASCAR set a precedent last year by suspending Busch for his wreck at
Texas.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">That
is, unless officials say they won’t suspend Gordon because he intentionally
wrecked a championship contender under green-flag conditions.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Anything
else would further diminish the integrity of a sport that already has enough of
those problems.</span></div>
jmayer1843http://www.blogger.com/profile/03979602470480690327noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4324293794163565996.post-13686330753618297092012-11-11T21:45:00.001-06:002012-11-11T21:46:34.725-06:00Rating the AdvoCare 500: 5 Stars *****<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The
Sprint Cup Series’ final trip out West turned into an old-fashioned bar fight,
a down-and-out team won for the first time in more than a year situation the
championship situation changed dramatically amid all the noise. The wild day at
Phoenix International Raceway gets a <a href="http://www.mondaymorningcrewchief.blogspot.com/2009/07/monday-morning-crew-chief-rating-system.html">5 Star Rating.</a></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Like
it or not, Sunday’s race had everything, and all of it was unexpected. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">First,
five-time champion Jimmie Johnson hit the wall coming out of Turn 4 on lap 235
after his right-front tire went flat. That incident relegated him to a 32-place
finish and put him 20 points behind Brad Keselowski, who finished sixth.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">But
that was only the beginning of the mayhem that took place Sunday in the desert.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Danica
Patrick and Sam Hornish Jr. had their weekly spat as Hornish Jr. tapped the
side of Danica’s car on lap 299 coming out of Turn 4. The contact cut down
Hornish Jr.’s left-front tire and eventually sent him into the wall. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Then
the big one happened. Clint Bowyer and Jeff Gordon made contact in turns 3 and
4 on the restart, and Gordon ended up slapping the wall. He then waited for
Bowyer to come back around the track and turned him sideways, wrecking Bowyer,
Joey Logano and Aric Almirola in the process.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Once
Gordon got to the garage area, Bowyer’s team was waiting and ready to pounce.
They did, and a huge brawl broke out behind the #24 team’s hauler as members of
both teams started throwing punches. Bowyer sprinted to the garage area to get
in on the action, but he and Gordon never met until after the race inside the
NASCAR hauler with officials.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">After
that excitement settles down, NASCAR restarts the race with a
green-white-checkered finish. Patrick wrecks in Turn 4 as the field comes to
the white flag, but NASCAR doesn’t throw a caution. The entire field then
slides through the oil from Patrick’s car as they come to the finish line and a
major wreck ensues.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Ryan
Newman, Mark Martin, Kurt Busch and Paul Menard all sustain major hits as they
plowed through the oil and into Patrick’s car. Keselowski got hit coming to the
line, but he didn’t get turned.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">To
put the finishing touches on a crazy day, Kevin Harvick won the race. It was
the first time he and the #29 team had gone to Victory Lane since September of
last year at Richmond.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The
win was surprising because Harvick and the entire Richard Childress Racing
organization had shown no signs of contending for a win for nearly the entire
season. Harvick finished second at Phoenix in the spring race, but he hadn’t
even had a top-10 finish in the Chase up until Sunday.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Maybe
the win will boost the Childress teams, but they still have a lot of work to do
to be competitive on a weekly basis, especially at larger tracks.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">People
will likely debate for days about what NASCAR should do about the Gordon-Bowyer
incident and what penalties it should or should not hand out. The one issue
from Sunday’s race that shouldn’t be disputed is NASCAR’s incorrect call to
throw the caution flag for Patrick’s wreck.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Week
after week NASCAR officials call for a caution flag for water bottles and
sandwiches or whatever incidental piece of debris is on the race track, yet
they didn’t call a caution when Patrick’s #10 car slid sideways through Turn 4
after hitting the wall.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">That’s
what caused the big wreck on the final lap. Officials always talk about the
importance of safety in the sport, but they put drivers in harm’s way on the
final lap when they allowed the race to finish under green.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Robin
Pemberton’s excuse that officials couldn’t see fluid on the track shouldn’t
justify NASCAR’s actions, or lack of action. The caution comes out for small
incidents all the time when the leader has put together a big enough lead to
keep the race from being exciting. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">NASCAR
should’ve thrown the caution flag for Patrick’s wreck. Period.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Anyway,
Johnson will take a 20-point lead into Homestead to try to win … Wait, not
Johnson. Keselowski will take that lead to Homestead to try to win his first
championship. He needs to finish 15<sup>th</sup> or better to win the trophy. If
he does, he will become the first driver to go head-to-head with Johnson in the
Chase and beat him since Tony Stewart did it in 2005. That’s a pretty
impressive feat, and Keselowski and the #2 team have had a very impressive
season.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Have
a great final week of the 2012 season, everybody.</span></div>
jmayer1843http://www.blogger.com/profile/03979602470480690327noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4324293794163565996.post-79540186694277461822012-11-05T22:37:00.000-06:002012-11-05T22:37:00.407-06:00Rating the AAA Texas 500: 3 Stars ***
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Sprint
Cup Series championship contenders Jimmie Johnson and Brad Keselowski spiced up
the end of an otherwise stale race Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway. Thankfully,
the championship was in play or Sunday’s race might have received worse than its
<a href="http://www.mondaymorningcrewchief.blogspot.com/2009/07/monday-morning-crew-chief-rating-system.html">3 Star Rating.</a></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Johnson
and the #48 team trotted out their dominating ways quickly last weekend.
Johnson smoked the field in qualifying, beating second-place Greg Biffle by
more than 0.10 of a second. That doesn’t sound like much, but it was the largest
difference between any two top-40 qualifiers.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Johnson
then went on to lead the first 100 laps, and he did so with more than a
four-second advantage over second place. Then NASCAR had to throw a debris
caution to give the field a chance to keep Johnson from stinking up the entire
show.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Overall,
Johnson got the necessary results by leading 168 laps and winning the race. But
his challenger, Keselowski, put up another strong fight at a track he
previously hadn’t finished higher than 14<sup>th</sup>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Keselowski
finished second Sunday and nearly stole the win. He took two tires twice while
the rest of the field took four tires, and he even roughed up the #48 car a
little by bumping him on the frontstretch to take the lead on the penultimate
restart.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">That
last section of the race is what saved the AAA Texas 500 from a lower rating.
The first 275 or so laps were very boring. For whatever reason, the intensity
level jumped dramatically after the final debris caution of the day on lap 275
and continued to the checkered flag.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Alas,
Johnson still ended up in Victory Lane and extended his lead in the
championship standings to seven points. The lead would’ve been just two points if
Keselowski had won and Johnson finished second.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">That
means Johnson will head to Phoenix, the second-to-last race of the season with
a lead that is longer than an eyelash. If Johnson beats Keselowski again next
week, the #48 team will strut into the final race at Homestead with another
sizeable lead that would require Johnson to finish well outside the top 10 to
even have a chance to lose the championship.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Still,
Keselowski has put up an admirable fight throughout the Chase, and the entire
season for that matter. Whether or not Keselowski wins the championship, this
season could be a sign of things to come in the future for him and the # 2
team, provided their switch to Ford next year goes smoothly.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">In
any case, the series will head to Phoenix next week for what could easily be
another Johnson-Keselowski show. There might be a non-Chaser jump in the top
five or pull off Kasey Kahne’s feat from last year when he won a race that was
dominated by the 2011 championship contenders, Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Kyle
Busch could pull that off this year. Remember last year at this time he didn’t
even have a ride after NASCAR suspended him following a truck series wreck with
Ron Hornaday Jr. at Texas. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Busch
finished third at Texas this year and could pull off an upset win next week,
but otherwise the championship race will likely be the sole focus of the
weekend.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Have
a great week, everybody.</span></div>
jmayer1843http://www.blogger.com/profile/03979602470480690327noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4324293794163565996.post-38102178568355485792012-10-29T21:33:00.001-05:002012-10-29T21:33:39.630-05:00Rating the TUMS Fast Relief 500: 3 Stars ***
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">A
week after his team pulled off a fairly big miracle to stay in championship
contention, Jimmie Johnson put together a vintage performance Sunday at
Martinsville Speedway to put him back in that all-too-familiar position atop
the points standings. The final short track race of the season gets a <a href="http://www.mondaymorningcrewchief.blogspot.com/2009/07/monday-morning-crew-chief-rating-system.html">3 StarRating.</a></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Johnson
now leads Brad Keselowski by two points after Keselowski finished in sixth,
which was actually a terrific finish considering he started 32<sup>nd</sup> and
never had a car capable of contending for the lead. However, the overwhelming
sense around the sport is that another championship for Johnson is just a
formality.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">For
the sake of the sport, hopefully Keselowski keeps the top of the standings
tight going into Homestead so there would be a real chance he could rise up and
beat the five-time champion. If not, 2012 could go down as one of the more
boring seasons in recent memory.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Anyway,
Sunday’s race was about as typical of a Martinsville race as possible. Cautions
fell fairly regularly throughout the race while allowing for some long
green-flag runs, the end of the race got shuffled up by a late-race wreck and
the #48 car ended up in Victory Lane.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Martinsville
is one of the few tracks in NASCAR where the final caution creates an agonizing
decision for crew chiefs in terms of whether or not to pit. Maybe it’s because
Martinsville is one a half-mile track, but the tire wear is ideal. The lap
times do fall off during a run, but they don’t drop so much that taking four
tires every stop is a given.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Keselowski
stayed out on the final stop to try and steal a win, but he faded to sixth. But
that’s also part of what makes Martinsville a great track. The tires wear
enough that it is difficult to stay ahead of cars with four fresh tires, yet
not enough to have everyone follow the leader into the pits.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Martinsville
is also a place that allows for some new faces in the top 10. Aric Almirola put
together his second straight fantastic race. He led much of the early part of
the race at Kansas before tire issues derailed his day. He then backed up that
performance Sunday with a fourth-place finish.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The
top 10 actually contained four non-Chasers, by far the most in any Chase race
this season. Kyle Busch finished second, Almirola fourth, Brian Vickers eighth
and Bobby Labonte ninth. But don’t expect that to continue next week at the
1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The
season is down to the point where just a few drivers still have a chance to win
the championship, and they will most likely perform as though they are the best
in the sport.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Johnson
and Keselowski will likely run well inside the top 10 and even the top five
most of the night. Other contenders such as Clint Bowyer and Kasey Kahne will
absolutely have to be at the front of the field throughout the race, finish in
the top three and have some help in the form of less-than-stellar races from
the top two drivers.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">In
any case, it is no longer premature to talk about who the real contenders are
going to be for the championship. Johnson and Keselowski look to be the two
drivers who will face off at Homestead, while Bowyer and Kahne will be close
enough to catch a bit of a draft from the front two, but they needed more
outstanding races earlier in the Chase.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Either
way, this is one of the most intense times of the year.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Have
a great week, everybody.</span></div>
jmayer1843http://www.blogger.com/profile/03979602470480690327noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4324293794163565996.post-60336296811418740862012-10-21T22:18:00.000-05:002012-10-21T22:22:07.505-05:00Rating the Hollywood Casino 400: 3 Stars ***<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">In
perhaps the craziest race of the 2012 Chase, Matt Kenseth came out on top while
nearly half the field did not finish the race, and that’s at a 1.5-mile track
that typically produces fairly pedestrian racing. But all of that still wasn’t
enough to get the final race of the season in the North anything above a <a href="http://www.mondaymorningcrewchief.blogspot.com/2009/07/monday-morning-crew-chief-rating-system.html">3 StarRating.</a></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The
wrecks began early and often Sunday at Kansas Speedway, and they affected
nearly everyone regardless of running order or position in the points
standings. Chasers Jimmie Johnson, Greg Biffle and Tony Stewart all spun. Aric
Almirola even wrecked while leading the race.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">All
of the carnage had a chance to really shake up the points standings, but it
turned out the Brad Keselowski maintained his seven-point lead on Johnson while
narrowly missing several of the wrecks that led to a track-record 14 cautions.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">However,
the fact that Johnson stayed just seven points out of the lead is truly
remarkable. Johnson spun in Turn 4 and smashed up the rear end of his car. The
damage looked extensive enough to send the car to the garage for repairs, but
the #48 pit crew went to work and fixed the back of the car to the point where
it could not only maintain minimum speed, but to the point where Johnson could
drive back through the field to finish ninth.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Races
like that are why the #48 team has won five championships and competed for a
championship nearly all of the 10 years it has existed. There might not be
another team in the sport right now that could have fixed a car with that much
damage without losing a lap and have a driver who could drive it back into the
top 10.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">As
for Keselowski, he also salvaged a day when the #2 car was not good enough to
compete for the win. He started in 25<sup>th</sup> and hung near the top 10 most
of the day, finishing eighth. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">That’s
not a bad day for Keselowski and the #2 team, but they are going to have to
produce a couple of top-fives soon or Johnson will make his move and take the
lead.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Other
contenders Clint Bowyer and Kasey Kahne finished inside the top 10, and Denny
Hamlin finished in 13<sup>th</sup>. All three of those drivers will likely need
top-five finishes the rest of the way to win the championship, and possibly
just to stay in contention by the time the series reaches Homestead for the
final race.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Hamlin’s
big chance could be next week at Martinsville, where he has won four times.
Unfortunately for Hamlin, who sits 20 points out of the Chase lead, Johnson has
won there six times. Next week will still be one of the better chances for
either Hamlin or Johnson to make up ground on Keselowski, who doesn’t have a
win at Martinsville.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The
funny part is there will likely be fewer cautions at Martinsville than there
were this week at Kansas, although the number of cautions at Kansas was in
large part because the track was repaved over the summer and speeds were up
dramatically from past races.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">But
before we head off to the next race, Kenseth and the #17 team should be
commended for their win at Kansas and second in the Chase. Kenseth sits 11<sup>th</sup>
in the points standings, is headed to the #20 car at the end of the season and
does not have a realistic shot at winning this year’s championship. However,
Kenseth and his team have continued to put together races consistent with his
performance throughout his entire career.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Both
the driver and team are very professional. It will be a shame to see that
partnership broken up when the season comes to a close.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Have
a great week, everybody.</span></div>
jmayer1843http://www.blogger.com/profile/03979602470480690327noreply@blogger.com38tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4324293794163565996.post-31862424008103184502012-10-14T21:34:00.001-05:002012-10-14T21:34:36.301-05:00Rating the Bank of America 500: 4 Stars ****
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The
top three Sprint Cup Series championship contenders dominated Saturday night at
Charlotte Motor Speedway, but the driver now fourth in the Chase, Clint Bowyer,
outlasted everyone to grab his third win of the season. The final race of the
season at Charlotte gets a <a href="http://www.mondaymorningcrewchief.blogspot.com/2009/07/monday-morning-crew-chief-rating-system.html">4 Star Rating.</a></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Brad
Keselowski, Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin were the class of the field all
night. Keselowski used pit strategy to move up from his 20<sup>th</sup>-place
starting spot after the third caution in 36 laps. The race went incident free
the rest of the way with only a couple of debris cautions for NASCAR to make
sure it stayed entertaining.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Keselowski,
Johnson and Hamlin combined to lead 228 of the 334 laps, but fueld mileage came
into play after the final debris caution on lap 223. Johnson and Hamlin both
couldn’t make it to the finish when they pitted with about 55 laps to go.
Surprisingly, neither could Keselowski, who usually has good fuel mileage.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Keselowski’s
chance at winning the race ended anyway on that next-to-last pit stop because
he ran out of gas going down the backstretch and had a 22-second stop once he
got there. That put him outside the top 10, and he would never recover,
finishing 11<sup>th</sup>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Johnson
and Hamlin also had to come back to pit road for a splash-and-go stop late in
the race, but they managed to finish second and third, respectively.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">While
all that was going on, Bowyer had enough fuel to make the finish, although not
complete a celebration burnout, and give Michael Waltrip Racing its first Chase
win. The victory also moved Bowyer up to fourth in the points standings, 28
points out of the lead.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Bowyer
is still a bit of a long shot to be a factor by the time the series reaches the
final race at Homestead, but he has shown once again that he is on the cusp of
being a championship contender.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Bowyer
has made noise in just about every Chase in which he’s competed. He finished
third in 2007 and fifth in 2008. He also made the Chase in 2010 and won the
first race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, but his car didn’t pass postrace
inspection and NASCAR docked him 150 points. That took him out of the picture,
and he finished the season in 10<sup>th</sup> place.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">This
year Bowyer could be in a similar position. He still doesn’t have the
consistency to match Keselowski, Johnson and Hamlin, but he is the best of the
rest.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">He
is also headed to his hometown track, Kansas Speedway, next week and could have
another good finish there, but it would still take a flawless run through the
rest of the Chase to have a legitimate shot to win the title.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The track in Kansas now has a brand-new
surface and progressive banking in the corners. Does that mean it will be a
more exciting race to watch? Probably not. The progressive banking has worked
at Homestead but hasn’t made much difference at other tracks once the idea
became popular.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">In
any case, expect the Chase frontrunners to lead the field as they did at
Charlotte. It might stink to have the same guys up front each week right now,
but their battle to win the championship will be a good one if they can all
stay in contention throughout the next month.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Have
a great week, everybody.</span></div>
jmayer1843http://www.blogger.com/profile/03979602470480690327noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4324293794163565996.post-76325869114684211442012-10-07T21:52:00.001-05:002012-10-07T21:53:26.611-05:00Rating the Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500: 5 Stars *****<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The
annual crazy race of the Chase lived up to the hype this time with the most
lead changes of the season, large pack racing and a massive crash on the final
lap. The final restrictor-plate race of the season gets a <a href="http://www.mondaymorningcrewchief.blogspot.com/2009/07/monday-morning-crew-chief-rating-system.html">5 Star Rating.</a></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The
majority of the race Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway was actually extremely
clean. Carl Edwards, Cole Whitt and Joey Logano got in an early wreck and Jamie
McMurray spun out to cause the green-white-checkered finish, but that was the
extent of the damage.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Until
the final turn of the final lap.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Casey
Mears, who had a strong car all day, gave Michael Waltrip, who was irrelevant
until the final lap, the mother of all pushes through Turn 3 and the pair was
headed to the lead. But then Tony Stewart saw them coming, tried to block and
ended up setting off a 25-car wreck.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Needless
to say, the race ended there. Matt Kenseth was ahead of the wreck and drove off
for the win. Jeff Gordon finished second, but he was 15<sup>th</sup> or worse
when the wreck began. For once he was on the receiving end of some good luck,
and it kept him on the edge of championship contention.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Like
it or not, that’s what happens at restrictor-plate tracks. The field was
four-wide at least six rows deep nearly the entire two laps of the final
restart. That is incredibly exciting to watch, but it would be a miracle for
the field to make it back around without some sort of incident. It’s already
amazing they made it to the final lap without a wreck.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Since
the Sprint Cup Series was at a restrictor-plate track, let’s go ahead and
discuss the style of racing. The cool temperatures should’ve helped the cooling
issues the cars tend to experience after the offseason rule changes to restrict
air flow to the engine, but nobody was able to push for more than a lap, if
even that far.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The
race actually felt more like the old style of restrictor-plate pack racing than
any race since the drivers discovered the two-car draft in 2008 and 2009.
Drivers were able to pass for the lead (there were 54 lead changes), and the
field never got strung out despite a couple of green-flag pit stops.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">This
was the last race of the current car model, but early indications are the new
model in 2013 will produce similar, if not better, racing. But we’ll find out
about that in February at Daytona. For now, the Chase drivers will focus on the
final six races of the Chase and how to catch Brad Keselowski, who extended his
lead to 14 points over Jimmie Johnson.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Next
up is Charlotte Motor Speedway for a Saturday night race. It’s the fifth race
in the Chase, and this is the point where drivers start to get eliminated from
championship contention either mathematically or practically. Johnson wrecked in
this race last year to end his hopes of a sixth-straight title.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Either
way, the racing at Charlotte is usually pretty entertaining. It might be some
of the best intermediate track racing we see the rest of the season.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Have
a great week, everybody.</span></div>
jmayer1843http://www.blogger.com/profile/03979602470480690327noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4324293794163565996.post-67805115279631129522012-09-30T23:13:00.000-05:002012-09-30T23:13:47.283-05:00Rating the AAA 400: 2 Stars **B<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">rad
Keselowski and the #2 team outsmarted the Sprint Cup Series field again Sunday
at Dover International Speedway to win their second Chase race of the season,
with seven more to go. Late strategy drama saved what was left of an otherwise
boring race that deserves a <a href="http://www.mondaymorningcrewchief.blogspot.com/2009/07/monday-morning-crew-chief-rating-system.html">2 Star Rating.</a></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Keselowski
now leads the points standings and stands five points in front of second-place
Jimmie Johnson. This has all the makings of a three-man championship battle
among Keselowski, Johnson and Denny Hamlin, who sits 16 points behind in third,
and Keselowski is leading the charge.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Those
who thought Keselowski would be a factor once the Chase started might have
thought he would play the role of Clint Bowyer in past years. Bowyer often had
a great start to the Chase and would hang around through most of October before
falling behind the real championship contenders. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Keselowski
is better than that. He and crew chief Paul Wolfe can pull out top-five
finishes on days they have a mediocre car that qualified in the mid-20s because
they play the strategy game better than anyone in the sport.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">That
team looks at every part of the race as an opportunity to gain an advantage
while most people focus on the final two runs. Keselowski is on top of the
sport because he and his team have made calls early in races while other teams
follow the leader and make the same call as everyone else. Granted, they have
to have good cars to be able to pull off those moves, but good cars and good
strategy are key ingredients in a championship run.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">On
the other side of the battle, Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Kyle Busch and Denny
Hamlin walked out of the Monster Mile disappointed even though they had top-10
runs. Busch dominated Sunday the way Hamlin had the week prior at New
Hampshire, but fuel strategy got in the way and both drivers had to pit late in
the race. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The
loss means nothing but frustration for Busch because he isn’t in the Chase this
year, but Hamlin gave up six points that could prove extremely costly late in
the season. Johnson also had to back down on the final run to make sure he had
enough gas to the finish.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">While
other drivers are leaking points, Keselowski is capitalizing. The rest of the
Chase field better take the #2 team seriously or they will be saluting the team
with a championship toast at the end of the year.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Overall,
there wasn’t much on-track action. J.J. Yeley blew a tire during green-flag pit
stops on lap 69 that knocked all but six drivers off the lead lap, but the race
wouldn’t have been any more exciting if everyone was on the lead lap.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">At
this point in the season, the good cars are head and shoulders above the rest
of the field so a race among the top six at tracks such as New Hampshire and
Dover is about as exciting as it would be if 30 cars were on the lead lap.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">That
will all change next week, though, as the series heads to Talladega
Superspeedway for the final restrictor-plate race of the season. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Those
races are nearly impossible to predict, which is part of their intrigue.
However, if Keselowski, Johnson and Hamlin finish in the top 10, the window of
opportunity for the rest of the Chase drivers will virtually shut. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">But
for one week at least, the Chase will take a back seat to 500 miles of intense
200 mph drama at the biggest track of them all.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Have
a great week, everybody.</span></div>
jmayer1843http://www.blogger.com/profile/03979602470480690327noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4324293794163565996.post-88904106008395917822012-09-25T19:25:00.001-05:002012-09-25T19:25:55.018-05:00Rating the Sylvania 300: 1 Star *
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Denny Hamlin won the Sylvania 300 Sunday at New Hampshire
Motor Speedway. Nothing else happened, so this race gets a <a href="http://www.mondaymorningcrewchief.blogspot.com/2009/07/monday-morning-crew-chief-rating-system.html">1 Star Rating.</a></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Hamlin dominated the race by leading 193 laps, all of
them after lap 93, but he started in 28<sup>th</sup> position. He had what
might have been the most dominating car of the season, if not several seasons.
Jimmie Johnson has won some races when he could race for three days and no one
would pass him, but that hasn’t really been the case this year.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">The win also gives Hamlin his fifth of the season and
vaults him back to third in the points standings, just seven behind perennial
leader Johnson.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">So far two of the three championship contenders have
proven they belong in the title hunt with victories, and Johnson has
back-to-back second-place finishes to lead the points standings. Brad
Keselowski won at Chicago. He, Hamlin and Johnson could easily be the three
drivers fighting for the championship at Homestead.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">All of the Chase drivers finished inside the top 20 at
New Hampshire, but that did nothing to spice up an afternoon of lackluster
racing. NASCAR threw a competition caution at lap 40 and then threw three more
throughout the rest of the race, including a late-race caution for “debris” in
a vain attempt to keep Hamlin from pulling into Victory Lane before anyone else
even crossed the finish line.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Thankfully, Hamlin still won the race so we don’t have to
worry about NASCAR officials destroying the presumed integrity of the sport
this week. Had Hamlin lost the race and gone on to lose the championship by a
few points, he would have a good argument that NASCAR’s quest for exciting racing
kept him from winning the championship.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">There wasn’t a real caution all day. Every car that didn’t
start and park finished the race with nothing more than a dent in a fender.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">So, after a week that did nothing to change the outlook
of the Chase, next week the Sprint Cup Series heads to another one-mile oval to
race at Dover International Speedway.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Dover is another track where a driver, most likely
Johnson, can dominate an entire day. However, there should be a little more
close racing this week because of Dover’s high-banked corners that allow
drivers to race instead of scoot around trying to roll the middle of the turn.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">It’s also a track that has bitten Chase drivers in the
past, and it would be surprising if all 12 Chase drivers finished in the top 20
again. Either way, Talladega will eliminate any boring racing the following
week.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Have a great week, everybody.</span></div>
jmayer1843http://www.blogger.com/profile/03979602470480690327noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4324293794163565996.post-76102043894203346222012-09-16T20:25:00.000-05:002012-09-16T20:26:06.466-05:00Rating the GEICO 400: 2 Stars **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Brad
Keselowski stole the Jimmie Johnson show Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway to win
the first race in the 2012 Chase and take the lead in the points standings.
Keselowski and Johnson both had impressive performances, but the race still
gets a <a href="http://www.mondaymorningcrewchief.blogspot.com/2009/07/monday-morning-crew-chief-rating-system.html">2 Star Rating.</a></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Johnson
made Chicagoland Speedway his playground for the first half of the race and
left the entire rest of the field in his dust. If races didn’t have cautions or
pit stops, Johnson would’ve lapped the field. Unfortunately for him, races do require
pits stops, and that’s when Keselowski and the #2 team pounced.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Johnson
made his final pit stop on lap 229, and Keselowski, who was more than one
second behind, followed a lap later. Incredibly, the #2 team pulled off a feat
similar to the June race at Michigan and Keselowski passed Johnson for the lead
after the round of stops.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Johnson
could never catch Keselowski, and the Blue Deuce sailed to victory in the Windy
City.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">This
win will instantly make people talk about him being a favorite to win the
championship even though he was considered a darkhorse pick at best up until
Sunday afternoon. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Either
way, it’s too early to know with any certainty what’s going to happen in the
next nine races. Clint Bowyer has performed well at the beginning of the Chase
in past years but never made it to Homestead with a real chance at the trophy,
and Johnson has finished as bad as 39<sup>th</sup> in the first race and still
come back to win.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">That’s
the route Jeff Gordon will have to take to win this year’s championship. Just a
week after he shockingly snuck his way into the Chase through the second
wild-card spot, his throttle stuck going into Turn 1 on lap 188 and destroyed
his car. He got back out to make laps but finished 35<sup>th</sup> and is
already 47 points, basically a full race, out of the lead.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The
non-Johnson favorite heading into Sunday was Denny Hamlin. He was running
inside the top 10 but ran out of fuel on the final lap and finished 16<sup>th</sup>.
That drops him to fourth in the points standings, but he is only 15 points out
of the lead. He just can’t have another similar mistake. Chicago turned into
his mulligan race.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Other
than Chase implications, Sunday’s race didn’t offer much. We had a couple of
always-dramatic debris cautions and Casey Mears blew a tire. Otherwise,
Keselowski and Johnson dominated the day, combining to lead 248 of the 267
laps.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">So,
next week the Sprint Cup Series takes the Chase to New Hampshire Motor Speedway
for 300 miles of “rolling the center.” This race, and Dover and Talladega to
follow, will be a chance for the drivers who don’t dominate on 1.5-mile tracks
to try and stash enough points to remain in the hunt down the stretch.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Tony
Stewart ran well at Chicago, and he has been really good of late at New
Hampshire, with three top-fives in his last five races at the track. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">New
Hampshire is also provides a chance for closer racing than we saw at Chicago.
It is incredibly difficult to pass, which opens the opportunity for good
battles for position.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">In any case, have a great week, everybody.</span>jmayer1843http://www.blogger.com/profile/03979602470480690327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4324293794163565996.post-21225852320439448292012-09-09T21:02:00.001-05:002012-09-09T21:02:36.686-05:00Rating the Federated Auto Parts 400: 4 Stars ****
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The
Sprint Cup Series regular season came to a close in dramatic fashion Saturday
night and early Sunday morning at Richmond International Raceway. Jeff Gordon
snuck through the raindrops to grab the final spot in the Chase in a race that
constantly changed complexion. Overall, this race gets a <a href="http://www.mondaymorningcrewchief.blogspot.com/2009/07/monday-morning-crew-chief-rating-system.html">4 Star Rating.</a></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">To
accentuate the changing nature of the race, Clint Bowyer won his second race of
the season even though he spun down the frontstretch in the second half of the
event. He and Juan Pablo Montoya made contact on lap 235. That cut down
Bowyer’s left-rear tire and caused his spin.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">But
that turned out to be a big-time blessing in disguise. The resulting pit stop
strategies put Bowyer back near the front of the field for the final 117 laps
and he passed Ryan Newman for the lead with 88 laps to go. He didn’t look back,
although he did have to manage his fuel mileage to reach the finish line.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">While
Bowyer led the final run, Gordon made a comeback that deserved to be rewarded
with a Chase spot. Gordon’s #24 car was junk in the first half of the race even
though he started in second. By the time the red flag came out for rain on lap
152, Gordon was a lap down to then-leader Denny Hamlin and looked to be out of
contention for anything. It turns out he was in contention for both a Chase
spot and the race win.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Gordon
charged through the field in the second half of the race and reached second
when the checkered flag flew. Kyle Busch faded to 16<sup>th</sup>, which meant
Gordon had snagged the second wild-card spot by a mere three points.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">No
matter what type of points system NASCAR uses, the fall race at Richmond almost
always produces a wild night of racing both on the track and in the points
standings. Those type of races don’t come around very often, but they are sure
fun when they do.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Also,
pretty much any important race in the last year has had to deal with rain
delays. Both Homestead last year and this season’s Daytona 500 were affected by
rain, but the racing was great when the weather let them get out on the track.
Hopefully that’s just a coincidence and this year’s Homestead race will be fun
but without rain.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">But
before the series gets to Homestead, the 12 Chase drivers will start their
battle next week at Chicagoland Speedway. Expectations for a fun and exciting
Chase are always extremely high the week leading up to the first race, but this
year there are a myriad of contenders. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">All
of the top drivers have won multiple races. Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin, Brad
Keselowski and Tony Stewart are going to be primed for a good next 10 races.
Even drivers such as Martin Truex Jr. and Kevin Harvick, who are winless this
season, are running well right now and it wouldn’t be shocking to see them bust
through with victories in the Chase.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">In
any case, this should be the best part of what has been a mediocre season in
terms of action. There won’t be time for Chase drivers to ride around because
they could quickly lose touch with the leaders in the points standings.
Hopefully, this is the beginning of the memorable part of the 2012 season.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Have
a great week, everybody. </span></div>
jmayer1843http://www.blogger.com/profile/03979602470480690327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4324293794163565996.post-6674146782139747252012-09-05T21:22:00.001-05:002012-09-05T21:22:30.060-05:00Rating the AdvoCare 500: 2 Stars **
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">After
a rough-and-tumble night at Bristol Motor Speedway a week ago, the Sprint Cup
Series brought back the long green-flag runs more typical of 2012 on Sunday
night at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The relative lack of action earns this race a
<a href="http://www.mondaymorningcrewchief.blogspot.com/2009/07/monday-morning-crew-chief-rating-system.html">2 Star Rating.</a></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Denny
Hamlin won the race to put him in prime contention for the championship once
the Chase begins in two weeks at Chicagoland Speedway, but Martin Truex Jr.
should have won the race. Shockingly, it wasn’t NASCAR’s fault he didn’t win.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Truex
Jr. led 40 laps Sunday night and had a substantial lead with five laps to go
when Jamie McMurray blew a tire and pounded the frontstretch wall. That sent
the leaders to pit road to get four tires because the surface at Atlanta is so
rough. Denny Hamlin came from fourth to first on the exchange of pit stops and
lined up alongside Truex Jr. to settle the race.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Truex
Jr. had trouble getting through the gears so Hamlin and Jeff Gordon checked out
in front. Gordon almost had a shot at Hamlin on the final lap, but he got
loose, Hamlin won and Truex Jr. finished a disheartening fourth place.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Truex
Jr. still clinched a spot in the Chase, but instead of the papers being full of
stories that say Truex Jr. is a serious contender for the championship, he is
left as an afterthought that happens to be in the Chase but probably won’t be
much of a championship threat.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">This
loss is a tough won for Truex Jr. and the #56 team because they have come
extremely close to several wins this year and have come up empty every time.
Truex Jr. has six top-fives, 14 top-10s and should’ve won the spring Kansas
race if not for a late caution.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">A
win might have been even more beneficial than the three bonus points he
would’ve received once the Chase standings are set. Sometimes a breakthrough
win can open the floodgates for several more wins in the near future. It’s
amazing sometimes how difficult it is to break into Victory Lane but then seems
relatively easy to return after that first win.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">For
example, Jimmie Johnson and Hendrick Motorsports had gone 16 races without a
win before Johnson won the Southern 500 in May at Darlington Raceway. Since
then, Johnson has won three more races (including the All-Star Race) and Hendrick
Motorsports has won seven races.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Truex
Jr. hasn’t won since Dover in June 2007, a span of 192 races. That streak
certainly weighs on him, and Sunday night’s fourth-place finish was
devastating. However, if he can get that win during the Chase, he could go on a
roll and really be a factor in the championship at the end of the season.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Sunday’s
race might not have been the most exciting race in the world, but next week’s
race at Richmond International Raceway could be thrilling. Seven drivers are in
wild card contention, but the only way most of them can make the Chase is to
win the race. That could make for a memorable short track race.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The
final regular-season week of the season is always a fun one, and all the
ingredients are in place for another wild race to send us to the Chase. We’ve
been waiting for this race seemingly the entire season, and hopefully it satisfies
our hopes.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">In
any case, have a wonderful week, everybody.</span></div>
jmayer1843http://www.blogger.com/profile/03979602470480690327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4324293794163565996.post-32749678807673057152012-08-27T00:53:00.001-05:002012-08-27T00:53:31.150-05:00Rating the Irwin Tools Night Race: 5 Stars *****
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Now
that’s some good old-fashioned Bristol racing. The annual night race at The
World’s Fastest Half-Mile was a slugfest that brought out the beating and
banging that made Bristol Motor Speedway famous. The track changes worked. The
Bristol night race gets a <a href="http://www.mondaymorningcrewchief.blogspot.com/2009/07/monday-morning-crew-chief-rating-system.html">5 Star Rating.</a></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Denny
Hamlin got the win in rather mundane fashion, but everything that happen up to
the final run was stuff we hadn’t seen in the Sprint Cup Series in quite some
time. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Sure,
the finish at Watkins Glen was exciting, and Jimmie Johnson’s blown motor with
five laps to go at Michigan prevented a matter-of-fact finish, but everyone got
up on the wheel from the drop of the green flag Saturday in Bristol.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The
bump-and-run returned to Bristol after track owner Bruton Smith decided to
shave off the top groove of the track to create less racing space. His hope was
to bring back a narrow groove that forced drivers to bump each other for
position. Smith got what he asked for, although perhaps not in the way he
envisioned.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Instead
of the reconfiguration sending everyone hunting for the bottom of the track,
the drivers spent all night fighting for the very top of the track, right where
Smith took away the banking. But the passing dynamics that existed at Bristol
before Smith installed progressive banking in 2007 still came back with a
force.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">It
became impossible to pass on the low side throughout the night, so drivers had
to nudge (or forcefully push) each other out of the way to gain a spot. That’s
what gave us the most memorable part of the night.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Matt
Kenseth and Tony Stewart battled for the lead on lap 332. Stewart got a run on
the high side, but Kenseth didn’t leave him much room. They started trading
paint and eventually slid across the frontstretch and crashed into the inside
wall. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Stewart
jumped out of his car and waited for Kenseth to come around pit lane. As
Kenseth came around, Stewart threw his helmet off the front of Kenseth’s hood
and then turned around to salute the fans. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">That’s
the kind of stuff that has been missing from the sport of late. Notice that
Stewart was not called to the NASCAR hauler after the race and won’t receive
any penalties for his actions.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Some
people will moan and groan that Saturday night’s race wasn’t “real racing” because
there were 13 cautions and wrecks all over the place. That’s fine. Those folks
can watch “real racing” at tracks such as Chicagoland, Kansas and Fontana.
Saturday night’s race was fun, intense and has fans a lot more pumped up about
NASCAR than any race this season outside of the Watkin’s Glen finish.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Hopefully
the momentum from Bristol will carry on to Atlanta and Richmond to finish the
regular season. All of a sudden the monotonous races from the first half of the
season seem like they are far in the past.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">That’s
a good thing as the Sprint Cup Series heads to Atlanta Motor Speedway for its
Labor Day weekend race. The points standings heading into the final two races
before the Chase are as tight as ever, and that should make for exciting finish
to the season.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Have
a great week and blessed holiday weekend, everybody.</span></div>
jmayer1843http://www.blogger.com/profile/03979602470480690327noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4324293794163565996.post-77652251828730229062012-08-19T21:43:00.000-05:002012-08-19T21:43:23.131-05:00Rating the Pure Michigan 400: 4 Stars ****
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">For
the second week in a row, the dominant Sprint Cup Series car at the end of the
race had a problem that prevented it from driving into Victory Lane. But bad
luck for one driver usually means a more exciting finish. The final race of the
season at Michigan International Speedway gets a <a href="http://www.mondaymorningcrewchief.blogspot.com/2009/07/monday-morning-crew-chief-rating-system.html">4 Star Rating.</a></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">This
week Kyle Busch gave Jimmie Johnson his bad luck as Johnson's engine blew up while leading with only five laps from the checkered flag. That left Greg
Biffle and Brad Keselowski to battle for the win. Keselowski made the final
couple of laps interesting, but he couldn’t catch Biffle, who got his second
win of the season.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">That finish comes after Keselowski spun Busch on the final lap last week at Watkins Glen.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Biffle
is now back on top of the points standings and could be much more of a factor
in the Chase than many people think. Unfortunately for him, Roush-Fenway Racing
cars still haven’t shown enough consistency to challenge for a title.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Regardless,
Biffle threw down a challenge in his Victory Lane interview.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">“We’re
going to make a run at the title,” he said. “I know they don’t talk about us a
lot, but they will when we get to (Las) Vegas.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Of
course, the championship celebration is held in Las Vegas at the end of the
season.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Along
from Johnson’s problem, Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon also had engine problems.
All three of those teams run Hendrick Motorsports engines. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">But
besides those issues and Biffle’s win, the race had a lot of action on the
track compared to a lot of Michigan races and a lot of races in 2012.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Mark
Martin, Kurt Busch, Regan Smith and Joey Logano all spent time up against the
wall. The pit road wall speared Martin’s car as he slid down pit road following
a spin caused by Bobby Labonte and Juan Pablo Montoya in Turn 4. It was an ugly
looking wreck, but Martin and everyone on pit road was OK. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Tony
Stewart and Jeff Gordon also had engine problems that ended their day early.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Sunday’s
race also had a lot of good racing that didn’t involve wrecks or mechanical
problems. The cars can’t yet go four- and five-wide throughout the race the way
they did before the track was repaved for this season, but the tighter groove
made for tighter racing.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The
middle of the field went three-wide on almost every single restart and barely
made it through turns 1 and 2. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The
cars looked like they were almost on railroad tracks during the first race in
June at Michigan, but that was much less of the case this time around. The cars
were more unstable and drivers could race much closer to each other than in
June.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Hopefully
that continues in future years and Michigan could crank out more entertaining
races than boring races. At this point it has potential, and that’s more than
could be said for several big, wide tracks with relatively new pavement.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Next
week the Sprint Cup Series visits the revamped Bristol Motor Speedway for what
could be a return of the bullring that made the track so popular in the 1980s
and 1990s. Track owner Bruton Smith ordered the top groove of the track to be shaved down after the spring race to create a tighter racing groove. Either way, it is going to be an intriguing weekend. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The
potential for explosive tempers at short tracks usually receives a lot of hype
that rarely plays out, but this could be a weekend where the postrace show is nearly
as interesting as the race. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">We’ll
see. Have a great week, everybody.</span></div>
jmayer1843http://www.blogger.com/profile/03979602470480690327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4324293794163565996.post-30964662091126316312012-08-12T22:32:00.000-05:002012-08-12T22:32:20.608-05:00Rating the Finger Lakes 355: 4 Stars ****<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">It
took a race track covered in motor oil to produce an exciting finish, but the
Sprint Cup Series drivers sure went nuts as they slid through the final two
laps Sunday at Watkins Glen. The first 88 laps weren’t much different than the
rest of the relatively boring season, but the wild and crazy finish gives this
race a <a href="http://www.mondaymorningcrewchief.blogspot.com/2009/07/monday-morning-crew-chief-rating-system.html">4 Star Rating.</a></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Kyle
Busch had the race won until he ran up on oil laid down by Bobby Labonte’s #47
car and had to slow his pace to stay on the race track. Brad Keselowski caught
him in Turn 1 on the final lap and promptly spun him out. Then the battle was
on between Keselowski and Marcos Ambrose.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The
remainder of the final lap looked like the track’s surface was dirt rather than
asphalt. Keselowski and Ambrose swapped the lead several times as they both
tried thrashed to get to the finish line first. Ambrose eventually won the
battle and took the checkered flag for his second consecutive win at Watkins
Glen.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Now,
many folks will say an exciting final few laps does not make a good race. There
is certainly truth in that statement, but it’s also true that races aren’t
designed to be exciting the entire time. Some of the greatest finishes in
NASCAR history have come at the end of an otherwise forgettable race. This week’s
race gets 4 stars because it had the best finish of the season. Period.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The
first 95 percent of the race was about as typical of a Watkins Glen race as
possible. Several drivers fell out of the race early because of mechanical
problems and teams made varying strategy calls throughout the race. Otherwise,
not much happened.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Busch,
Keselowski and Ambrose had the three best cars all day, so it was fitting they
were the three to battle for the win. And boy, they battled.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Busch
should’ve won the race. He beat Keselowski and Ambrose on the final restart and
would not have been caught if the track had been dry. His spin on the final lap
relegated him to seventh on the scoreboard and moved him to 14<sup>th</sup> in
the points standings, six points away from the second wild-card spot, which is
currently held by Ryan Newman.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Maybe
the biggest lesson from Sunday’s race is how the slick conditions made for such
exciting racing, and how much the drivers enjoyed the battle.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Certainly
Busch and Jeff Gordon, who also spun out on the final lap, would disagree, but
Keselowski and Ambrose had a ton of fun sliding around for the win.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">That
type of racing has disappeared in NASCAR in the last five years or so. In the
greatest finish of all time, Ricky Craven and Kurt Busch slid around Darlington
Raceway in 2003 for the final 15 laps banging into each other and having a
great time. Craven won the race by .002 seconds.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Unfortunately,
that type of racing isn’t possible any more, even at tracks such as Darlington.
Nearly every track on the NASCAR schedule has been repaved since Craven’s win
in 2003. Atlanta Motor Speedway is just about the only track left that hasn’t
been recently repaved and has an abrasive surface that is difficult to drive.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The
fresh asphalt gives cars better grip and allows the cars to go faster, but it
doesn’t make for better racing. Hopefully, the track surfaces start to give up
grip in the near future and become more difficult to drive. That will make for
better racing.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Next
week the Sprint Cup Series heads to one of the tracks with the newest pavement:
Michigan International Speedway. Speeds surpassed 200 mph in June, but that
likely won’t happen this weekend with hotter temperatures.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Maybe
Dale Earnhardt Jr. will win again. We’ll likely hear plenty about his win in
June next week. Regardless, expect the big teams to dominate the front of the
field. The quality of the car matters a lot at Michigan.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Have
a great week, everybody</span></div>jmayer1843http://www.blogger.com/profile/03979602470480690327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4324293794163565996.post-12569554118799874642012-08-05T21:33:00.000-05:002012-08-05T21:33:21.124-05:00Rating the Pennsylvania 400: 1 Stars *<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">A
Sunday afternoon destined to be cut short by rain ended in tragedy with a big
thunderstorm at Pocono Raceway. Jeff Gordon happened to sit in first place as
the rains came, but the final race of the year at Pocono gets a <a href="http://www.mondaymorningcrewchief.blogspot.com/2009/07/monday-morning-crew-chief-rating-system.html">1 Star Rating</a>.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The
race really doesn’t matter following the death of a fan and injuries to nine
others who were struck by lightning at the racetrack after officials ended the
race on lap 98, and there is no way it could get a higher rating amid such a
devastating event.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">With
that in mind, let’s take a look at what happened before the storm Sunday at
Pocono.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">After
a season filled with about every different type of disappointment imaginable,
Gordon made a withdrawal from the luck bank when Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth
and the rest of the frontrunners tried to make it through Turn 1 sideways on
the final restart.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Sure,
Gordon and his team worked hard to get him in position to sneak through for a
win, but he still caught one heck of a lucky break. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The
same thing happened for Ryan Newman at Martinsville when Clint Bowyer took out
Johnson and Gordon in Turn 1 on the final restart. Now Newman and Gordon are
tied for the final wild-card spot, with Gordon winning the tiebreaker because
he has more top-five finishes. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Maybe
the final wild-card spot should be renamed the lucky card if one of those two
drivers makes the Chase based on their lone win.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Sunday’s
race actually had a fair amount of action for a rain-shortened event at Pocono.
Yes, Johnson jumped out and paced the field by four seconds or so for a while,
but the leaders stayed close during several runs, especially compared to most
races at Pocono or most of the races this season.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Perhaps
it’s fitting a Hendrick Motorsports car won the race because that organization
again dominated the day. Dale Earnhardt Jr. charged to the front early in the
race and would’ve been in strong contention for the win if his transmission
hadn’t broke. Kasey Kahne had the second-best car at the start of the race and
then Johnson made his usual run to the front.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Hendrick
Motorsports could have placed four cars in the top five if not for bad Johnson
and Earnhardt Jr.’s problems.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">With
all of the crazy issues throughout the day, Kyle Busch came out as the biggest
loser. A problem with the back of his car sent him into the Turn 1 wall on lap
19 and he finished 33<sup>rd</sup>. More importantly, he scored just 11 points
and now sits 15<sup>th</sup> in the points standings with one win. He came into
the race 11<sup>th</sup> in the points and in position for the second wild
card. He is now 12 points behind Gordan and Newman for that spot.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Either
way, a big-name driver is going to miss the Chase this year. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Next
up for the Sprint Cup Series is the road course of Watkins Glen. Marcos Ambrose
and Juan Pablo Montoya will likely receive all sorts of attention and people
will say they have a chance to make the Chase if they can win that race.<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Well,
technically they would have a chance, but neither car is running well enough
these days to pose a real threat to the drivers currently in the wild-card
positions. It would be great for Ambrose or Montoya to get a win, but let’s not
push the issue too far. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Kahne,
Gordon, Newman or Busch will be the wild-card drivers this year. Even Carl
Edwards would have to mount a charge in an incredibly short amount of time to
make the Chase. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">He
likely won’t win next week at Watkins Glen, so that means he has just Bristol,
Atlanta and Richmond to make the Chase. He could catch fire and win two of
those three races, but there is little reason to think that will happen based
on his performance so far this season.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Anyway,
have a great week and pray for those who were affected by the lightning strike
at Pocono.</span></div>jmayer1843http://www.blogger.com/profile/03979602470480690327noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4324293794163565996.post-9797029337610361902012-07-29T20:51:00.001-05:002012-07-29T20:51:18.929-05:00Rating the Brickyard 400: 2 Stars **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The
Jimmie Johnson domination tour stopped in one of his favorite field-stomping
grounds Sunday as he drove away from everybody to win his fourth Brickyard 400.
Unfortunately, dominating performances rarely make for an exciting race, and
that was the case again this week. This year’s Brickyard 400 gets a <a href="http://www.mondaymorningcrewchief.blogspot.com/2009/07/monday-morning-crew-chief-rating-system.html">2 Star Rating.</a></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Look
out, folks. Johnson and the #48 team are back on top of the NASCAR world. The
numbers about Brickyard winners becoming Sprint Cup Series champions have been
well-documented. The Brickyard winner has gone on to win the championship eight
times in the first 18 years of the race. Johnson went on to win the
championship each of his previous three victories at Indy.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Johnson
will surely face strong competition from a number of drivers, but all of the
signs are there for the #48 team to make another successful championship run
this year.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Aside
from marveling at Johnson’s greatness, there wasn’t a whole heck of a lot to get
excited about Sunday afternoon. The only stretch of the race that had tense
racing quickly ended once Joey Logano spun out and hit Matt Kenseth, causing
the #17 car to burst into flames.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">More
than anything, the race at Indy looked like an extended, faster version of the
race at New Hampshire. If there wasn’t any interesting strategy developing in
the pits, there just wasn’t much to talk about.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">This
shouldn’t be surprising, however. The Brickyard is typically a race of prestige
more than a race of excitement. That’s what makes Daytona so great. It hosts the most important race of the year and often the most exciting. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">In
any case, big congratulations are in order for Johnson. He is reaching the
point in his career where he is approaching, or in this case reaching important
milestones.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">His
four Brickyard wins tie him with Jeff Gordon for the most by a NASCAR driver at
that track. This was also win #58 of his career, his third of the season and he
is charging toward his sixth Cup championship.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">It
stinks for many fans of other drivers to see Johnson win seemingly every week
and win the championship every season, but trust me, what Johnson is doing is
special. Today’s fans will tell their children about Johnson’s accomplishments,
even if it’s by saying, “I hated his guts because he won every week for almost
an entire decade.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The
one other note that we can’t forget is that Dale Earnhardt Jr. took over the
lead in the points standings. Kenseth finished 35<sup>th</sup> after his wreck,
and Earnhardt Jr. finished fourth to take a 14-point lead over Kenseth.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">While
it’s nice for Junior Nation to see their driver on top of the standings, the
Chase has made this point somewhat meaningless. When Kenseth was told he lost
the points lead, he just shrugged because he knows the Chase is the only time
it matters where a driver sits in the standings. As long as a driver is
currently in the top 10 in points, he doesn’t have to worry about whether he is
first or 10<sup>th</sup> because they get reshuffled for the Chase anyway.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Just
imagine what today would’ve been like if the Chase didn’t exist. People would
be falling over themselves with excitement that Earnhardt Jr. leads the points.
At this time in the season, Earnhardt Jr. would be considered the championship
favorite under the old format. Now he is still considered a darkhorse because
he has just one win while Johnson, Tony Stewart and Brad Keselowski each have
three wins.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Oh
well. The Chase has its good points and bad points, and both have been
discussed more than enough in the last seven years. But wait and listen to the
reaction if it turns out Earnhardt Jr. would’ve won the championship under the
old points system this year but loses the Chase.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Next
up is Pocono Raceway, another 2.5-mile track that generally lacks exciting racing. Maybe we’ll be surprised and something interesting happens, but we
probably shouldn’t cross our fingers.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Have
a great week, everybody.</span></div>jmayer1843http://www.blogger.com/profile/03979602470480690327noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4324293794163565996.post-6100854954701560552012-07-18T20:30:00.002-05:002012-07-18T20:30:48.795-05:00Although 10th in points, Brad Keselowski might be favorite for 2012 championship<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The
Sprint Cup Series drivers took to the New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday to
battle a track that makes it extremely difficult to pass. So hard, in fact,
that only one driver who started outside the top 12 finished in the top dozen.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">That
driver was Brad Keselowski, who finished fifth and just might be the
championship favorite come Chase time this fall.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Keselowski
started 22<sup>nd</sup> Sunday, but by the time the first caution waved on lap
90 he sat inside the top 10.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">OK,
that’s wonderful. Several regular front-runners start in the back and make
their way through the field each week, right? Yes, that’s true, but none of
them did Sunday. New Hampshire races are sometimes like watching slot-car
racing when all of the cars are in the same slot. They just ride around one
behind another all day.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">That
was the case Sunday for most everybody except the driver of the #2 Penske
Racing Dodge Charger.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">It
would be easy to say Keselowski had so much success simply because he had a
good race car, but sometimes the strength of a car can be muted at tracks such
as New Hampshire. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Denny
Hamlin came from 14<sup>th</sup> to second in the final 62 laps, but he also
had four fresh tires while the rest of the field had only two. Keselowski did
his damage at the start of the race when everybody was on a level playing
field.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Part
of Keselowski’s success comes from his determination and a mindset that he is
going to man up and drive the car as hard as he can for those three or four
hours each Sunday. He said as much after his win Saturday in the Nationwide
race at New Hampshire.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">“It
was hot, but that’s racing,” he said. “It’s not supposed to be easy.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">He
had similar feelings when he spoke about supplements that NASCAR does or does
not ban.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">“</span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">My personal belief that nothing should be allowed. Nothing,” Keselowski
said Friday. “I don't feel like you should be able to take <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Flintstones</span> pills. It's my personal
belief. You're race car drivers, you should have to overcome it.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Keselowski spectacularly overcame a situation that could
have easily derailed his 2011 season. He broke his foot in a test the week
before the July race at Pocono, and then he went out and won the race despite
an ankle that had swelled to the size of a softball.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Whether or not people agree with Keselowski’s opinions,
he is a hard-nosed driver with the confidence required to contend for a
championship. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">He may sit just one spot from falling out of the top 10
in the points standings, but come Chase time he is going to be a major factor.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">His three wins will give him bonus points that will
propel him to the top of the Chase standings when the order is reset after the
Sept. 8 race at Richmond International Raceway. Plus, he has experience in the
Chase from 2011 when he made a dramatic run to snag a wild-card spot. He went
on to finish fifth in the final Chase standings.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">That experience, combined with his ability to knock down
wins at several different types of racetracks, makes him one of a small group
of drivers that should be considered legitimate championship contenders this
year.</span></div>jmayer1843http://www.blogger.com/profile/03979602470480690327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4324293794163565996.post-40062473625319220732012-07-15T22:01:00.000-05:002012-07-15T22:02:04.966-05:00Rating the Lenox Industrial Tools 301: 2 Stars **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">A
dreary afternoon at New Hampshire Motor Speedway set the stage for a dreary
race where the second-best car in the field won because of a terrible pit call
by his opponent. But, it didn’t rain, so the Sunday afternoon drive in Loudon
gets a <a href="http://www.mondaymorningcrewchief.blogspot.com/2009/07/monday-morning-crew-chief-rating-system.html">2 Star Rating.</a></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Kasey
Kahne had a good car, but Denny Hamlin had a better one. Hamlin dominated the
entire weekend. He qualified third, had the fastest lap in each of Saturday’s
practice sessions and led 150 of the 301 laps on Sunday. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Unfortunately
for Hamlin, he and crew chief Darian Grubb weren’t on the same page on their
last pit stop and took four tires while the rest of the field took only two.
That sent Hamlin from the lead to 14<sup>th</sup> with 62 laps to go. Hamlin
made a great charge at the end but still came home second.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Although
Kahne received some good fortune with Hamlin’s pit call, he had a strong car
all weekend, and this win is not a fluke. He now has two wins on the season and
sits 12<sup>th</sup> in the points standings, leading the pack of wild card
contenders.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">My,
what a difference three months make. After a 38<sup>th</sup> finish at
Martinsville in April, Kahne sat 31<sup>st</sup> in the points. At that point
he had to pay more attention about not falling out of the top 35 in points than
making the Chase. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">People
started to write him off and wait for the #5 team to try again next year. That
might have been an accurate assessment back in the Winston Cup Series days when
there was no Chase and the driver with the most points at the end of the season
won the championship.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">These
days a driver has many more opportunities to contend for a championship. A
driver can have a bad start to the season and still win the championship. Brad
Keselowski was 23<sup>rd</sup> in the points standings at this point in the
season last year, and he ended up 11<sup>th</sup> by the time the Chase
started.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Kahne
is still 66 points behind Keselowski for 10<sup>th</sup> place, but he has two
wild-card spots available. That option keeps all of the top 20 drivers in the
points standings in contention to make the Chase up until only a few races
remain before the cutoff at Richmond in September.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Overall,
this was not a high-quality race in terms of action on the track. Kyle Busch
led the first 66 laps and never drove away from Kahne and Hamlin, but Busch had
major pit problems and a speeding penalty on his first stop that was the
beginning of a tough day for the #18 team.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">From
that point on Hamlin checked out and did his best
Jimmie-Johnson-at-Auto-Club-Speedway impression. Hamlin had more than half of
the field a lap down until that fateful pit stop that forced him to race his
heart out for second.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">And
as has been the case most of the season, the first caution didn’t fly until lap
90 when NASCAR threw one for debris. Race officials did the same 101 laps
later, and then David Reutimann’s engine blew up on lap 235. Other than that,
nothing happened, and it was extremely difficult to pass.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Unfortunately,
we might be stuck with this type of racing the rest of the season. NASCAR has
made a few modifications to the cars lately, but it hasn’t had any effect. The
Race to the Chase will be fun with several drivers in contention for the
wild-card spots, but the actual racing during that stretch could easily be less
than thrilling.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">In
any case, next week is the final off-weekend of the season for the Sprint Cup
Series. The teams will head to Indianapolis Motor Speedway in two weeks to
begin the final stretch of the regular season.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Have
as great week everybody, even though it won't be followed by a Cup race next weekend.</span></div>jmayer1843http://www.blogger.com/profile/03979602470480690327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4324293794163565996.post-72592070824128392972012-07-09T00:19:00.000-05:002012-07-09T00:19:25.808-05:00Rating the Coke Zero 400: 5 Stars *****<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The
Sprint Cup Series roared back into a drier and less flammable Daytona
International Speedway on Saturday night and put on perhaps the best race of
the season. The Fourth of July celebration in Daytona gets a <a href="http://www.mondaymorningcrewchief.blogspot.com/2009/07/monday-morning-crew-chief-rating-system.html">5 Star Rating.</a></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Tony
Stewart ran a clean race that was otherwise filled with drivers making those
breathtaking moves that fans love when they race inches apart at 200 mph for
hours on end. Sometimes those moves create big wrecks that stir the pot and get
people talking about what should or should not have happened. Either way, it
was exciting.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The
first half of the race flew by with no cautions until lap 81 when Sam Hornish
Jr., fresh off of an emergency trip to Daytona Beach to replace suspended A.J.
Allmendinger in the #22 car, spun after a tire went down.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Yes,
the first half of the race was as incident-free as many of the other races this
season, but the two-wide, 200-mph pack is exciting regardless of the
circumstances. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">There
weren’t many passes for the lead, but the race certainly had a tension level
higher than most every other race this year outside of the Daytona 500, but it
also created a don’t-move-from-your-seat-because-anything-could-happen feel
that the tandem restrictor-plate races of the past couple of years simply
didn’t produce until the end of the race.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The
second half of the race, as is the case with many restrictor-plate races, is
when the field went mad. Kurt Busch tried to force his way through a hold the size
of a beach ball on lap 91 and created the first big wreck of the evening. That
was followed by the traditional big wrecks as the laps wind down, including the
insanity that gets unleashed when the flagman reaches for the checkered flag.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Stewart,
Jeff Burton and Matt Kenseth crossed the line in front of a massive wreck that
collected most of the front half of the field, creating an interesting
finishing order that included Michael Waltrip in ninth and Bobby Labonte in 10<sup>th</sup>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Although
Stewart won the race, Kenseth had the best car of the night. He and Greg Biffle
have dominated the restrictor-plate races this year the way Waltrip and Dale
Earnhardt Jr. used to during their days at Dale Earnhardt Inc. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Kenseth
could have won all three of the restrictor-plate races this season, but the
crazy circumstances that surround those races don’t often reward the driver
with the best car. In any case, Kenseth again extended his points lead to 25
over Earnhardt Jr. and is on his way to cruising to the Chase with the points
lead. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">It’s
too bad Kenseth will leave at the end of the year because that group is
clicking as well as it has since Robbie Reiser was atop the pit box for the
“Killer Bees” in the first half of the 2000s.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">As
for Stewart, the Daytona win gives him three victories on the season and moves
him up to fifth in the points standings. That #14 team might not be the most
consistent team in the field, but it certainly has the power to be as good as
anyone in the sport every given week. That will make Stewart a strong contender
for the championship again this season.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Next
up is New Hampshire, where Stewart and teammate Ryan Newman dominated a year
ago. Newman won the pole and the race, and Stewart finished second. Lookout
folks, those Stewart-Haas Racing cars have Hendrick Motorsports power, and
those engines have won five of the last eight races, including the All-Star
Race.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">This
could be a fun rest of the season between Hendrick power and Roush-Fenway
Racing power if the Fords can keep up on the intermediate tracks.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Have
a great week, everybody.</span></div>jmayer1843http://www.blogger.com/profile/03979602470480690327noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4324293794163565996.post-61863623574127686142012-07-02T17:57:00.000-05:002012-07-02T17:57:00.688-05:00Rating the Quaker State 400: You Rate the Race!!B<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">rad
Keselowski picked up his third win of the season as the NASCAR Sprint Cup
Series heads for the traditional midseason spectacular at Daytona International
Speedway. But, before we head to Florida, let’s hear what you thought of the
Quaker State 400. This week it's your turn to <a href="http://www.mondaymorningcrewchief.blogspot.com/2009/07/monday-morning-crew-chief-rating-system.html">Rate the Race.</a></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Keselowksi
has been steadily charging his way to the top of the sport for some time now,
and Saturday night’s win confirmed that he is a strong contender for the
championship. He now has the most wins of anyone in the sport and can get up on
the wheel as much as any of the other Chase contenders.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">As
for the rest of the race, there was about as much action as we’ve seen on all
of the intermediate tracks this season. The restarts produced close racing for
a few laps and then everyone settled down. Ryan Newman’s engine blew up late in
the race and sent him into the wall, but otherwise fuel mileage discussion
dominated most of the night.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">This
was also a race that really favored the big teams. Each of the top 12 finishers
drives for the six biggest teams in the sport. And even though a Hendrick
Motorsports car didn’t win the race, that organization still had quite a night
as all four of its teams finished in the top six in the points.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Although
many of the races this season have lacked much excitement, business should pick
up in the second half of the season. The good teams are really good and could
put together quite a battle for the championship. Keselowski will be in the mix
to represent Penske Racing, and both Roush-Fenway Racing and Hendrick
Motorsports should have multiple cars with a shot at the title. That’s not to
mention Joe Gibbs Racing, which could have any of its drivers catch fire for
several races late in the season.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">We
are also at a point in the season where we will likely see more and more repeat
winners. The season has had 12 different winners to this point, but those 12
represent 12 of the 15 best drivers in the sport. Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards and
Kevin Harvick might win a race sometime soon, but it would be a surprise if
somebody outside of that 15-driver group won a race this season.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">So,
the statement that there are 25 to 30 different drivers who could win a race on
any given weekend might not be so true. Anybody truly could win next week at
Daytona, but beyond that there really are just about 15 drivers who have a
legitimate shot at the win.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Anyway,
let Monday Morning Crew Chief know what you thought of the Kentucky race on a
one- through five-star scale. Treat it as a restaurant or hotel review. Would
you recommend this race to somebody else? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Regardless of how terrific or horrible the race at Kentucky went, NASCAR returns to the greatest
speedway in the world next week to celebrate one of America’s best holidays: the
4<sup>th</sup> of July. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Have
a great week and enjoy the holiday, everybody.</span></div>jmayer1843http://www.blogger.com/profile/03979602470480690327noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4324293794163565996.post-72819537222420810282012-06-25T22:42:00.001-05:002012-06-25T22:44:04.922-05:00Kurt Busch's Sonoma run makes him more difficult to understand<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Just
as everyone tried to once again write off Kurt Busch’s career and say he will
have trouble ever competing for wins in the Sprint Cup Series, Busch took the
unsponsored #51 car Sunday at Sonoma and drove it to a hard-fought, third-place
finish.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Remember,
this #51 car is owned by James Finch, who has been in the sport for 19 years
and had three career top-fives heading into Sunday’s race. Finch has had 25
other drivers have raced a Cup car for him and only three had even recorded a
top-five.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">By
any measure, Busch did a great job Sunday. Not many could take that #51 car and
run as well as he has at times this season. He certainly doesn’t have the
finishes to show for it, but Busch has driven some pretty good races this
season and been in the top 15 before trouble struck late in the race.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">And
that might be what is so frustrating about Busch. He has a lot of talent. If
Busch putted around in the back of the field throughout his career, people
wouldn’t care nearly as much about what he does on or off the track. If he did
or said something stupid, he would lose his ride and that would be the end of
his Cup career. We would likely never hear from him again.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">But
that’s not the case. Busch is a very good driver. He has won a championship and
at least one race for the last 10 consecutive years. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Sometimes
Busch is like that kid in school that always got under your skin. At times you
would hate that kid to death, but then he or she would do something nice and
make you have to reconsider your opinion. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Busch
is in the same position. His emotional response to Sunday’s performance shows
that he still very much cares about what he does; he wants to remain in the
sport and eventually return to a top-notch ride. Who wouldn’t love that
redemption story?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Well,
that’s the issue. After Penske Racing and Busch parted ways, Busch spent the
rest of the offseason talking about how he wanted to do things right and get
his career back on track. That’s wonderful. He could put his head down and
grind through this season as best he could and then hope one of the big owners
gave him another shot.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">But
just when we think Busch has changed and is dedicated to doing the right thing,
he goes and has a dispute with Ryan Newman’s pit crew at Darlington that puts
him on probation. He then mouths off to a reporter following the Nationwide
race at Dover four weeks later to earn a suspension for the next week at
Pocono.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">All
of a sudden any sympathy for Busch flew out the window. Those acts make him
appear as the jerk everyone thinks he is right after an incident happens.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">This
leaves people into a state of confusion. They don’t know if Kurt Busch is a
flat-out jerk who can’t get along with anybody or a good guy who just gets too
wrapped-up in his emotions.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Either
way, Busch has pushed the envelope to its breaking point. One more negative
situation could be the end of the line for him in a Cup car that has consistent
sponsorship. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">But,
as we saw Sunday, top-five runs in an unsponsored car can also expose the world
to how good Busch is as a racecar driver. That could be his ticket to get back
on a career path that is headed toward Victory Lane.</span></div>jmayer1843http://www.blogger.com/profile/03979602470480690327noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4324293794163565996.post-29115535238398490432012-06-24T22:10:00.000-05:002012-06-25T12:42:25.687-05:00Rating the Toyota/Save Mart 350: 2 Stars **<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small;">T</span>he
first road course race of the 2012 Sprint Cup Series season followed the theme
for most of the year so far that the majority of the race should be void of any
action. The race at Sonoma had very long stretches of time where everyone just
logged laps and talked about strategy. All in all, Sunday’s race gets a
generous <a href="http://www.mondaymorningcrewchief.blogspot.com/2009/07/monday-morning-crew-chief-rating-system.html">2 Star Rating.</a></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Clint
Bowyer and Kurt Busch did have a good battle toward the end of the race. Busch
looked like he might be able to pull off a pass at the end but instead broke a
piece in the rear of his car. Instead, he had to work harder at holding off
Tony Stewart than catching Bowyer.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">However,
having Busch in contention for the win certainly added some intrigue to the
finish of the race, even if for nothing more than to find out what he said
afterward. Still, it is cool to see an unsponsored car challenge for a win or
even run near the front of the field, regardless of who is in the car.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The
rest of the race left much to be desired. Sometimes long green-flag runs are
fun if drivers are sliding around and racing each other, but long green-flag
runs at a road course are brutal. There wasn’t one exciting moment for the
first 85 laps of Sunday’s race.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Pit
stops were about the only things that happened after Jeff Gordon passed Marcos
Ambrose on lap 12. Martin Truex Jr. took the lead after green-flag stops cycled
around because he came in before everybody else, and then Bowyer would take the
lead when Truex Jr. pitted.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The
rest of the race wasn’t even just full of cars going around in circles, it was
full of cars winding their way through a road with a few hills. Unfortunatly, the latter is worse for NASCAR fans.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Anyway,
congratulations to Bowyer, the #15 team and Mikdkchael Waltrip Racing. That
organization has improved the most of any group in the sport during the past
year. Most people didn’t expect any MWR cars to make the Chase, and now Truex
Jr. and Bowyer both sit comfortably in the top 10 in the points standings.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Regardless
of driver preferences, it is nice to see another organization step into serious
Chase contention. Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing has a car challenge for a spot every
other year or so, but otherwise the Hendrick, Gibbs, Roush-Fenway and Childress
organizations dominated the scene. New contenders are always good for the
sport. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Although
there haven’t been any first-time winners this season, there have been 12
different winners in the 16 races this year. That is an even better rate than
last year, when we talked about how many different drivers reached Victory Lane
at this point in the season. Only 11 different drivers won the first 16 races
in 2011.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">So,
although the racing hasn’t been particularly exciting in many races this
season, at least there has been a bunch of different winners. This would not be
a good year to have one driver dominate the entire season, unless it was Dale
Earnhardt Jr., of course. We saw how much his wins drum up interest after he
won at Michigan last week.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Now
the Cup series heads to Kentucky for the second Cup race at Kentucky Speedway.
Kyle Busch dominated the inaugural event last year that received more attention
for the traffic problems than the actual race. If the race at Sonoma lacked
action, it is hard to imagine the race at Kentucky will have much more, but
we’ll always hope.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Either
way, Daytona is only two weeks away.</span></div>jmayer1843http://www.blogger.com/profile/03979602470480690327noreply@blogger.com0